Serbonian

American  

[ser-boh-nee-uhn] / sərˈboʊ ni ən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or designating the large marshy tract of land in the northern part of ancient Egypt in which entire armies are said to have been swallowed up.

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Etymology

Origin of Serbonian

1660–70; < Greek Serbōní ( s ) ( límnē ) Serbonian (marsh) + -an

Example Sentences

That avenue was nicknamed “the great Serbonian bog.”

From The New Yorker • Jan. 19, 2017

The vision of a Serbonian bog acted only as a magnet, and Lafayette started to join Greene.

From The Spirit of Lafayette by Hallowell, James Mott

Serbonian, ser-bō′ni-an, adj. relating to a dangerous bog in Egypt, hence to any difficult situation.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various

This point is the great Serbonian bog, betwixt Damiata and Mount Casius old, where armies whole have sunk.

From The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 02 (of 12) by Burke, Edmund

To understand the poet's development it is nowise necessary to lose one's self with him in the Serbonian bog of metaphysic.

From The Life and Works of Friedrich Schiller by Thomas, Calvin